KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS, AND PRACTICES REGARDING BIOMEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS

Authors

  • Santhosh Kumar mp Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Velappanchavadi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
  • Reshma Rahman Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Velappanchavadi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2017.v10i8.19101

Keywords:

Biomedical waste management, Health hazard, Knowledge, Attitude, Dental students, Practices, Waste disposal

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, awareness, and practices of dental students regarding biomedical waste (BMW)management.

Methods: A self-administered structured questionnaire consisting of 16 questions on knowledge, awareness, and practices about BMW managementwas distributed among 100 students randomly belonging to 3rd year, final year and intern students of Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha University,Chennai. The data extracted were tabulated, statistically analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and results obtained. The data were analyzed using ANOVAtest (all the results are calculated at 1% level of significance) and Post-hoc test.

Results: Overall, 67% respondents were aware of the existing BMW management policy systems in India. 62% of students were aware about thecorrect color coding management system for hospital waste management that prevails in India. 86% of students knew about the dental wastecategories of materials used in dentistry. There was a statistically significant difference of knowledge levels among the 3rd year, final year students andthe interns. 100% practice discarding sharps in the puncture-proof containers. Only 27% of the respondents discarded the extracted tooth in a properway. Only 51% of them have attended previous training programs on dental waste management. There was also a statistically significant difference ofBMW disposal practices among the three groups.

Conclusion: The majority of dental students in our study have good level of knowledge and awareness regarding BMW management in dental clinics.However, their practice toward BMW disposal was poor. Hence, the knowledge acquired must be put into practice. Intern students have the highestlevel of knowledge and practices toward dental waste disposal when compared to final year and 3rd year students. Hence, these findings imply thatproper training, continuing education programs, and short-term courses about BMW management, and infection control procedures are requiredto motivate the dental students and dental auxiliaries. The importance of training regarding BMW management must be emphasized as the lack ofproper and complete knowledge about BMW management impacts practices of appropriate waste disposal.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Santhosh Kumar mp, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Velappanchavadi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

oral and maxillofacial surgery

READER

References

Government of India. Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling)

Rules, 1998. Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Subsection (II). The

Gazette of India. No.460. New Delhi: Government of India; 1998.

Sood AG, Sood A. Dental perspective on biomedical waste and mercury

management: A knowledge, attitude, and practice survey. Indian J Dent

Res 2011;22(3):371-5.

Zia A, Ullah I, Ali S, Zia M, Mathew S, Fatima K, et al. Prevalent

risk factors of HCV transmission in health care workers (HCWS) in

Pakistan. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2015;7(11):365-70.

Mathur P, Patan S, Shobhawat SA. Need of biomedical waste

management system in hospitals - An emerging issue - A review. Curr

world Environ 2012;7(1):117-24.

Charania ZK, Ingle NA. Awareness and practice of dental care

management among dental practitioners in Chennai city. J Contemp

Dent 2011;1(1):15-21.

Sudhir KM. Awareness and practices about dental health care waste

management among dentists of Davangere city, Karnataka. J Indian

Assoc Public Health Dent 2006;8:44-50.

Bansal M, Vashisth S, Gupta N. Knowledge, awareness and practices

of dental care waste management among private dental practitioners in

Tricity (Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali). J Int Soc Prev Community

Dent 2013;3(2):72-6.

Sanjeev R, Kuruvilla S, Subramaniam R, Prashant PS,

Gopalakrishnan M. Knowledge, attitude, and practices about

biomedical waste management among dental healthcare personnel in

dental colleges in Kothamangalam: A cross-sectional study. Health Sci

;1(3):1-12.

Mathur V, Dwivedi S, Hassan M, Misra R. Knowledge, attitude, and

practices about biomedical waste management among healthcare

personnel: A cross-sectional study. Indian J Community Med

;36(2):143-5.

Chudasama RK, Rangoonwala M, Sheth A, Misra SK, Kadri AM,

Patel UV. Biomedical waste management: A study of knowledge,

attitude and practice among health care personnel at tertiary care

hospital in Rajkot. J Res Med Dent Sci 2013;1(1):17-22.

Manchanda K, Fotedar S, Dahiya P, Vats A, De Sarkar A, Vats AS.

Knowledge, attitude, and practices about biomedical waste management

among dental healthcare personnel in dental colleges in Himachal

Pradesh: A cross-sectional study. SRM J Res Dent Sci 2015;6(3):166-9.

Bangennavar BF, Gupta A, Khullar S, Sukla N, Das A, Atram P.

Biomedical waste disposal: Practice, knowledge, and awareness among

dentists in India. J Int Oral Health 2015;7(11):53.

Pandit NB, Mehta HK, Kartha GP, Choudhary SK. Management of biomedical

waste: Awareness and practices in a district of Gujarat. Indian

J Public Health 2005;49(4):245-7.

Madhukumar S, Ramesh G. Study about awareness and practices about

health care wastes management among hospital staff in a medical

college hospital, Bangalore. Int J Basic Med Sci 2012;3:7-11.

Narang RS, Manchanda A, Singh S, Verma N, Padda S. Awareness of

biomedical waste management among dental professionals and auxiliary

staff in Amritsar, India. Oral Health Dent Manag 2012;11(4):162-8.

Khatoon KF, Akkifuddin S. Awareness of dental auxillaries in

biomedical waste disposal: A survey. J Adv Med Dent Sci Res

;3(1):40.

Bennadi D, Reddy V, Thummala NR. Preventive and curative measures

adopted by dentists to combat occupational hazards-a cross sectional

study. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2015;7(10):416-8.

Published

01-08-2017

How to Cite

Kumar mp, S., and R. Rahman. “KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS, AND PRACTICES REGARDING BIOMEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS”. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, vol. 10, no. 8, Aug. 2017, pp. 341-5, doi:10.22159/ajpcr.2017.v10i8.19101.

Issue

Section

Original Article(s)